Trump Team Weighs RFK Jr. Exit as MAHA Backlash Concerns Grow
Trump Faces Growing Pressure to Push RFK Jr. Out as Internal Frustrations Build
President Donald Trump is facing a political dilemma over whether to remove Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as advisers weigh the potential backlash from a key segment of his support base.
According to political analysts and reporting cited by The Irish Star, some officials within the administration have privately expressed a desire to see Kennedy leave his post.
However, any move to force him out could risk alienating supporters aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, referred to as MAHA. The group has drawn backing from independent voters and others skeptical of public health policies, particularly on issues such as vaccines, food additives and raw milk consumption.
RFK JR. SALUTES THE HHS TEAM
Trump biographer Michael Wolff described the situation as a balancing act during an appearance on the Daily Beast podcast Inside Trump’s Head. “They are now stuck with RFK Jr. and the anti-vax face,” Wolff said. He added that while some in the administration want Kennedy out, they are wary of the political consequences.
“They don't want to fire him because the MAHA constituency is significant, they feel, to the Trump base,” Wolff noted. “So they want him to go away, but not go away mad.” Recent administrative decisions may reflect efforts to limit Kennedy’s influence. On April 16, Trump announced the nomination of Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Schwartz, a Coast Guard rear admiral and former deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first term, supports immunization programs. The CDC had been without a Senate-confirmed director for months following the departure of its previous leader.
“It is my honor to nominate the incredibly talented Dr. Erica Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH, as my Director of the CDC,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “She is a star!”
Analysts say the appointment could signal a shift by the administration toward a more conventional public health approach ahead of upcoming elections. Wolff argued that Kennedy’s public profile has become a liability within the administration.
“Among Donald Trump's problems—this is a central one—[is] that he has staffed the administration with people who everyone thinks are jokes,” Wolff said. “This is certainly true of RFK Jr., but also very specifically directed at him because he has become the face of something that is deeply, deeply unpopular, which is the anti-vax position.”
Former White House health advisor says she worked to block RFK Jr. from gaining a vaccine safety role in the Trump White House.
He added that efforts appear underway to reduce Kennedy’s role. “So the White House is trying to essentially curtail or limit RFK Jr., and they're trying to put in their own people who are mostly less extreme, certainly on the anti-vax side, than RFK,” Wolff stated. “We are seeing the gradual defenestration of RFK Jr.”